Chewing gum



Patented Oct. 18, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHEWING GUM Walter 0.Snelling, Allentown, Pa.

No Drawing. Application November 29, 1947 Serial N0. 788,968

ing gum, and more particularly relates to an improved chewing gumcomposition. The principal object of my invention is to provide achewing gum that will not only retain a pleasant flavor longer thanchewing gum made from any chewing gum base at present known, but onethat will show more uniform taste over the period that it is masticated.

Although commercial chewing gums vary widely in their composition,nearly all of the commercial production of chewing gum consists of amixture of a water insoluble masticatory base and water solubleflavoring agents, the water insoluble base constituting about 20% of themixture, (with a normal range of from 15% to 22%) and the Water solubleflavoring agents constituting from 78% to 85% of the mixture. The waterinsoluble masticatory base may consist of chicle alone, or of a naturalrubber such as pontianak, or of a rubber which has been treated bymechanical or chemical action or by a combination of these two efiects,until its rubberiness has been suitably modified to give it the desiredmasticatory characteristics. Softeners are often added, and thesematerials are water insoluble and when used form a component part of themasticatory base.

Since commercial chewing gum is a mechanical combination of readilywater soluble flavoring agents and water insoluble masticatory base,.itscomposition changes rapidly when it is first chewed, and in a matter ofa few minutes (usually not longer than -five minutes), the flavoringagents are mostly removed from the mixture, leaving only the almostflavorless masticatory base. Careful tests .have indicated that most ofthe commercial chewing gums have a very pleasant and sweet taste thatcontinues almost unchanged for a period of about five minutes, when thetaste begins to drop off sharply, and after being chewed for aboutminutes, the water soluble flavoring agents have been substantiallyremoved from the mixture, which thereafter may continue to give apleasant sensation when chewed, but which is almost fiavorless. Aneffort has been made to produce chewin gums which have a longer periodof taste by adding to the masticatory base difiicultly soluble oils andresins, and although these somewhat extend the period over which themasticatory base has a flavor, this flavor is not as pleasant as that ofthe water soluble flavoring agents, and to some persons is not pleasantat all.

3 Claims. (Cl. 99-135) nitrobenzene is incorporated with either naturalchicle or any of the water insoluble chicle substitutes of the usualcommercial types, it dissolves in these materials readily andcompletely, and when so dissolved shows so greata solution aflinity forthe masticatory base and so feeble a solution afiinity for saliva, thatit is given up to the saliva extremely slowly, so that chewing gum madein accordance with my present invention often gives a pleasant flavorfor a period that may be times as long as the period in whichconventional chewing gums lose their flavor, and which in some tests hasbeen found to be more than times as long as the sweet initial flavor ofconventional chewing gums is retained.

As already mentioned, in conventional chewing gums the amount ofmasticatory base usually representsabout 20% of the weight of thefinished gum, and the flavoring agents constitute about of the weight ofthe finished gum. Gum made in accordance with my present invention notonly reverses these proportions, but may actually employ considerablysmaller amounts of flavoring agent, but still with the production ofgreat and long-continued flavoring effect.

As an example of my invention, I may use a mechanical mixture ofparts ofany of the usual chicle or chicle-substitute masticatory bases, with 10parts of an alkoxyaminonitrobenzene, and although this mixture will notbe as sweet when initially chewed as a conventional chewing gumcontaining 80% of a mixture of sugar and corn syrup and 20% ofmasticatory base, after being chewed for five minutes it has a sweetnessand flavor fully equal, if not superior, to most commercial chewinggums. From this point on, its superiority over conventional chewing gumsis outstanding, because the commercial chewing gum loses practically allof its' flavor when chewed for an additional period of five minutes,whereas my new product continues to show practically the same sweetnessand flavor for an additional period of chewing of from three to sixhours.

By careful tests I have proven that this most important result is due tothe quite remarkable and unexpected result of the relative solubilitydistribution of thealkoxyaminonitrobenzenes in rubber-like hydrocarbonsand in saliva. The alkoxyaminonitrobenzenes have such a strong affinityfor the rubber-like hydrocarbons that constitute the water insolubleportions of chicle and of chicle substitutes that they tend to remaindissolved in this material. At the same time their solubility in salivais low, and therefore they tend the minute amounts that are continuallydissolved in the saliva as the result of equilibrium conditions give themasticatory base a pleasant, lasting sweet taste, which continuesalmostundimine ished for several hours, and which even then v drops oifvery slowly.

Efiorts have been made by others to increase the period over whichconventional chewing gums retain their sweet flavor, but it has beenfound that by doubling the quantity of watersoluble flavoring agent, theperiod of sweetness is not substantially lengthened. It is true that forthe first few moments of chewing the sweet taste is intensified, but thewater solubility of the flavoring agents causes them, in whatever quan-.'tity they are present, to dissolve very rapidly in the saliva, sincethey are substantially insoluble in the rubber-like hydrocarbons of themasticatory base, and they are very soluble in saliva.

The product resulting from the solution of an alkoxyaminonitrobenzene ina rubber hydrocarbon represents just the opposite of this condition, andthe alkoxyaminonitrobenzenes have not only high solubility in thehydrocarbons of the masticatory base, but tend to be fixed and veryfirmly held therein. Their solubility in water is very low, andaccordingly, as the masticatory base is chewed for a long period oftime, the amount of the flavoring agent that passes into the saliva isextremely minute, and tends to become uniform as a consequence of thehigh retaining power of the masticatory base and low solubility in thesaliva. As a result of their high initial flavoring power, however, eventhe amount of the alkoxyaminonitrobenzenes that are slowly set free asthe result of theirsolubility equilibrium condition in the twoimmiscible mediums, gives my'new chewing gum base and chewing gums madefrom it, a satisfactory flavor over a period of many times the maximumperiod that other chewing gums have a pleasant flavor, and give thispleasant flavor almost uniformly over a period of hours of mastication.

The result that is achieved in the practice of my invention isimpossible to achieve by any of the usual expedients of adding greaterquantities of flavoring agent to a masticatory base, and in the practiceof my invention I obtain a better flavor from the use of analkoxyaminonitrobenzene in an amount equal to or less of the weight ofmy masticatory base than others have been able to obtain by the use ofwater soluble flavoring agents in an amount equal to 400% of the weightof their masticatory base. This means that in flavoring ability, Iobtain a vastly improved result from a very much smaller quantity offlavoring agent. I believe that the tastebuds of the mouth are dulled orpartially deactifled by the intensely sweet taste that is produced inthe first few minutes of chewing conventional chewing gum, so that thesensation of taste of the person chewing the gum is not in any wayproportional to the amount of sweetening agent that is present, and thisis borne out by the fact that although chemical tests indicate that theamount of sweetening agent that is dissolved from con-- ventionalchewing gum in the third minute of chewing is considerably less thanhalf of the amount that is dissolved in the first minute of chewing,relatively little difference in taste is noted in these two periods.This means that in conventional chewing gum a large amount of sweeteningagent is wasted because it must be ascents present in great excessin'the first few minutes of the gum being chewed, in order that any'maybe present after the gum has been chewed for from four to sixminutes.Chewing 'gum made greater sweetness and flavor after being chewed showafter being chewed for eight minutes, and

this result is clearly due to the" greater efllciency J that I obtain inthe actual utilization of the flavoring agent that I employ. It is truethat the alkoxyaminonitrobenzenes are known to be very sweet bodies, butthe flavor that I obtain from themin the practice of my presentinvention is entirely out of proportaion to the effect that would beproduced if a chewing gum were to be made containing sugar and cornsyrup of equal sweetening power. Such a chewing gum would be intenselysweet when first chewed, but would still be almost flavorless afterbeing chewed for flve minutes, and would no longer taste sweet afterbeing chewed for ten minutes, whereas my products retain a very pleasantsweetness after being chewed for six or more hours. By chewing aconventional chewing gum for a period of twenty minutes, and thensetting the masticatory base aside, and chewing a. portion of similarweight of my improved chewing gum for a period of six hours, and thensetting the masticatory base aside, and at a later time again chewingeach of the two gum residues, it will be found that the residue from theconventional gum is substantially'flavorless and has no longer any traceof a sweet taste, whereas the residue from my improved gum will besubstantially as sweet as it was after being chewed for the first twentyminutes, and its sweetness will be very clear and noticeable.

Although I may employ any of the sweet alkoxyaminonitrobenzenes in thepractice of my invention, I prefer to use the 1 n-propoxy-Z-amino 4nitrobenzene which has the clearest and best flavor, and which showsvery high retention in the masticatory hydrocarbon base and very lowsolubility in saliva, to an extent that makes this material preeminentlysatisfactory for use in chewing gum.

In making chewing gum in accordance with my present invention, I followthe usual methods of manufacture, employing chicle or any of thecommercial chicle substitutes and preferably employing a mixture of ofchicle, and 75% of a rubber base chicle substitute. Because a largeportion of the profit in commercial chewing gum is due to the flavoringagents used, (these materials havings a much lower per pound price thaneither chicle or chicle substitutes), I may add to my masticatory basein which has been incorporated an alkoxyaminonitrobenzene any de- .1

w sired amounts of sugar, corn syrup, and additional flavoringmaterials, but in doing this it should be understood that the purpose isprimarily to reduce the unit eost of manufacture of a unit of weight ofthe gum to meet competitive conditions,

5 and to avoid prejudice on the part of the public to the small size ofstick in which my new gum of equal chewing characteristics can be made.Since 80% of the weight of most commercial chewing gums is made up ofwater soluble flavor- 7o ing agents that are chewed out completely inthe first five to ten minutes of chewing, leaving only 20% ofmasticatory base, it will be recognized that I can make a stick ofchewing gum which is equal in chewing characteristics and which isvastly superior both in flavor and in the long and in-accordance with myinvention shows materially I I for two hours than conventional chewinggumsuniform life of its flavor, that will initially weigh only slightlymore than as much as a stick of conventional chewing gum. This tinystick of chewing gum will have just as much masticatory base, and verymuch more flavor, than a conventional stick of chewing gum, but it isdoubtful that the public would take kindly to so small an initial stickof gum, or could be brought to understand, without very extensiveadvertising, that in this tiny stick 'of gum theywould obtain just asmuch masticatory material and very much more flavor than they would inthe conventional much larger stick of chewing gum loaded with some 80%of its weight of sugar and corn syrup, and that are very promptlydissolved from the gum in the first few minutes it is chewed. It ismainly forthis reason that I may in the commercial application of myinvention similarly add sugar, corn syrup and additional flavors to myproduct, but it should be recognized that for the use of the military,for which large quantities of chewing gum have. been found to be notonly a source of comfort to the soldier but also as a help to morale anddesirable for other reasons, my new product without the addition of anyquantities of corn syrup or sugar mayhave a quite special field ofusefulness, in which its light weight and small bulk are actuallyadvantageous.

As a specific example of my present invention, I will describe theprocedure which I may follow in the manufacture of a chewing gumintended to be competitive with brands of chewing gum now on the market,but which gives a gum which retains its pleasant, sweet flavorapproximately 50 times as long as commercial brands of chewing gum.

In a gum kettle, I place 25 lbs. of chicle and 75 lbs. of a commercialchicle substitute such as Paloja or Chulicious (together with softeningagents if desired), and run steam through the jacket until the mixtureof chicle and chicle substitute becomes very soft. To the softenedmixture I then add 2 lbs. of 1 n-propoxy-Z-amino 4 nitrobenzene, andthoroughly incorporate. I then add lbs. of corn syrup and 20 lbs. ofsugar, and again incorporate thoroughly. The batch is then rolled andworked on a bed of powdered sugar until the desired consistency isproduced.

As another example of my invention, I may place 50 lbs. of chicle and 50lbs. of a commercial chicle substitute in a gum kettle, heat until themixture of chicle and chicle substitute is very soft, and to the softmixture I may add 2.5 lbs. of 1 n-propoxy-2-amino 4 nitrobenzene andthoroughly incorporate. This mixture is then rolled out in the customarymanner with powdered sugar until a sheet of the desired consistency andthickness has been obtained, and this sheet will then be cut up intopieces or sticks of gum of any desired size and shape.

Instead of 1 n-propoxy-2-amino 4 nitrobenzene, I may use any of theother alkoxyaminonitrobenzones, but particularly 1 ethoxy-2-amino 4nitrobenzene, 1 isopropoxy-2-amino 4 nitrobenzene, 1

butoxy-2-amino 4 nitrobenzene or 1 allyloxy-2- 5 amino 4 nitrobenzene,all of these alkoxyaminonitrobenzenes being known to be sweet andsoluble in water. I have found them to have solubility in masticatoryhydrocarbons. Of all of the alkoxyaminonitrobenzenes, I find 1n-propoxy-2- amino 4 nitrobenzene to be most satisfactory in flavor,sweetening ability and low solution movement'from rubber hydrocarbonsinto normal human saliva.

By the term masticatory hydrocarbon as used in these specifications andin the claims, I mean natural chicle, purified chicle, and chiclesubstitutes such as pontianak or other natural rubber, or natural orartificial rubbers modified by the action of chlorine, oxygen, or otherreagent to reduce their rubberiness and to increase their masticatorycharacteristics, and natural or artificial rubbers that have beenmechanically Worked or masticated until their natural elasticity hasbeen reduced and they have been rendered plastic rather than elastic andrubbery. This definition also includes chicle substitutes made by eitherchemical action or mechanical action, or both types of action, onnatural or artificial rubber, examples of such commercial chiclesubstitutes being Polaja, Chuliciousfl'and the like.

When the alkoxyaminonitrobenzenes are dissolved in masticatoryhydrocarbons in amounts greater than of 1%, they tend to give anoticeable color to the masticatory base, and this color which isslightly yellowish-green may be objected to by some users of chewinggum. I find that I can completely mask and hide this color by theaddition of water-insoluble but resin soluble dyes, or pigments such ascarbon black, charcoal, Ultramarine or Phthaiocyanine Blue, very minuteamounts of any of these being highly efficient.

It will be understood that many modifications may be made in thepractice of my invention without departing from the scope of thedisclosure as herein made, and accordingly no limitations should beplaced upon my invention except such as are indicated in the appendedclaims.

What I claim is:

1. A chewing gum base comprising a solution of a water soluble sweet1-alkoxy-2-amino-4-nitrobenzene in a masticatory hydrocarbon.

2. A chewing gum base comprising a solution of1-isopropoxy-2-amino-4-nitrobenzene in a masticatory hydrocarbon.

3. Chewing gum comprising a solution of a water soluble sweet1-alkoxy-2-amino-4-nitrobenzone in the proportion of 2 to 10 parts byweight, a masticatory hydrocarbon parts and sucrose serving as anadditional sweetening agent.

WALTER O. SNELLING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Sommer Sept. 10, 1889 OTHER REFERENCESNumber

